Thursday, November 10, 2011

30 Days of Thanksgiving: (11/10/11): My Midwife

I am so thankful for my Midwife (ok, technically Midwives, because I am with the Midwife group up at the U.) But Lisa K, is the one I consider 'mine.' She was the first one I met with when I was looking for someone to take me as a VBAC candidate; and she's got such a calm demeanor about her. I love that she's totally on top of things, but doesn't hesitate to follow up with the resident if there's a question about standard of care. I also love that she doesn't shy away from the old school Midwife tricks of the trade: Evening Primrose Oil, Raspberry Leaf Tea, etc. And she'll say, "these are what the old-schhol Midwives did..." all while explaining there's no real scientific backing... but what have you go to lose, eh?

I love that after hearing my birth story with Holden, instead of saying "eek, sounds like you're broken," she followed up with "Hmm, sounds like you needed a little more time to ripen." Exactly... like a piece of fruit, the female parts just need time to ripen.

On Wednesday I had yet another ultrasound (I swear it was my 5th...or more!) and they measured me at 40 weeks 5 Days (I am technically somewhere past the 38 week depending on which 'due date' you're using: Nov 18 or Nov 23). Baby Z weighed in at 8 lbs 14 ounces (give or take a pound)...I'm obviously taking a pound and going with the 7 lb route. But she called today to make sure I wasn't stressed out, and assured me that at this point (and from feeling the baby at my appointment on Monday) that she didn't think I had a nine pounder inside of me, and there was no reason to jump to the conclusion that I needed a c-section. She said, "I still think the best course is to just give your body time to do what it's supposed to do."

Hallelujah!

I just hope my body decides that it's ripening time sooner than later.

PS. Here's a random thought... since I'm delivering at the U, and my uterus will obviously be involved in the blessed process, I'm pretty sure the cheer "Gooooooo Utes!" is taking on a whole new meaning for me at this juncture in my life.